[desandchez]

JUST NOTICE THAT WE HAVE HAD A VISIT FROM MR RAT, DOSE ANY ONE KNOW WHEN THEY ARE MOST ACTIVE?

[Bodger]

They prefer the cover of darkness for security reasons but are not adverse to a daytime forray.

[Roll Roll]

I am ashamed to say that I am not SCARED of rats/mice I am PETRIFIED.  Their you go then I've said it.

My "phobia" has been the reason we havent had poultry before now, but they say face your fears! :shock:  :shock:

 As I am so scared of them I have learned every thing possible about them. Having said that we still regually have them visit. Unfortunatly we have a brook at the bottom of the garden which opens out on to open fields, so it is inevetable we will get them.

In answer to your question we see them all year round but more so in the winter ,as food becomes scarce they come closer "in" to find it.
We get free pest control from our council and he leaves a permanant bait box which he checks on every week, tap him for infomation and act on his advice and you will hardley see any. We have less now than before we had poultry.

Thanks Fred (our pest control man)

[Spadefighter]

Free pest control? Not here. Had rats in our loft 2 years ago, before we had chickens. Local council? Not interested.

My parents in Devon had all their pest control free, luckily I'm not a freezing pensioner or on benefits and was able to pay someone. Its an absolute outrage that there is no council pest controller here.

[Roll Roll]

All houses in South Staffordshire get free pest control, but when we got them at work it was chargable. Rent a kill came out and did a survey, then came back with a quote, which equated to £2500 over a 12 month contract :shock:  :shock:  :shock: So i contacted the council (West Midlands) Which is where my firm is based, they came out and charged £50 i think which included another 2 free visits if needed, and £25 for each visit afterwards, which were not needed. Once again we took advice off the pest control man, and we have not see them since.

Hope this helps.

[Fen]

See my reply to a similar topic. (I have rats in my run)
Rats need food and daily access to a water supply, if they are denied either they will move away. They also prefer to live under structures or buildings. Any food store or chicken shed on the ground is ideal for them.
So:- Store your food in tin or plastic bins and don't spill any on the floor.
If possible put your food store and chicken house or concrete blocks (breeze blocks) so that they are about 10in above ground level, too bigger gap for a rat to live underneath.
Don't feed on the ground. Suspend your feeders about 15 inches above the ground so that the hens can see what they are pecking but the rats can't reach up to it.
I use the plastic feeders with partitions which stop the hens flicking out heaps of grain or pellets onto the ground which the rats clear up over night.(saves a lot of feed as well)
If all else fails get some rat poison in 10cm x 10cm bags and put them in the centre of a 2m long piece of plastic drain pipe. Lay this horizontally where the rats are acive. They can't resist a tunnel and they will pick up the bags and take them down to their burrows.
 
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